TwinOaks

We used to have some monthly 'challenges' that were designed to introduce various aspects of this craft to new members AND to encourage 'old hands' to experiment a little out of their comfort zone. I thought they were a great idea and they really helped the new members learn. As with many things, it appears that our instructors got caught up in their 'day jobs', and we had a declining rate of participation.......in short, they just fizzled out. It's been a while since we've done one, so I'm proposing one. Yes, it's a bit late in the month, but it's never too late, right? Here's the challenge: Produce an eagle's head (source of image is up to the participants).......using a swivel knife and only one other tool. Please list the tool that you use when you post your pics. Coloring is not required. This leans heavily on the carving/tooling side of this craft, which I feel is at the heart of leather crafting. I suspect we'll see a good bit of finger cuts, but I'd also like to see some out of the box creativity. For our new members, this is a great way to teach them to not only think outside the box, but to completely ignore that there ever was a box. As it's late in the month, we'll overlap a bit into February....let's try to get the pics in by Valentine's day. To our members who are just starting out: No one will be criticizing your pictures, so please don't hesitate to post them or think "it's not good enough". We all started somewhere and you might just have the next mind blowing creative technique that we've all been searching for.

I wait until the end of "back to school" season and pick up the plastic file folders at wallyworld for about a nickel each. I use these for most of my smaller patterns. For large patterns (both of them) I like linoleum ....same reasons as Tony.

K-man, I've been reading this and having flashbacks!!! Ah......hindsight is a fine thing, but only once one has the seasoning to see their mistakes. Malabar, I hope you have good success with your holster design. In a year or two, when you're writing a 'thank you' letter to a forum member for helping you learn what works, what sells, and for pointing out where you were going wrong.....gimme a shout. I think I can drag up the letter I sent to K-man doing exactly the same thing. This thread is strikingly similar to the thread in which I made a complete arse of myself...arguing holster design with one of the best in the business. Thankfully, that post was lost in the great crash.

Nice job on those, and Welcome to Leatherworker.net!

It may be the result of too much pressure....maybe it's just the photo. Lonerider - your posts in this thread seem like nothing more than TROLLING. In the first post, the OP says comments and critiques are welcome. Well....there's been some. If you have differing critiques, please include them. If you have a dispute with another member, please handle that through PMs or the 'Report' button, but please don't hijack a thread to pick a fight.

Consider this: Most of us sew with nylon or polyester thread. Both will stretch, so replacing tanned hide with thread that stretches won't reduce the stretching. It might retard the stretching if you were to use a non stretching thread like linen, but I think it likely that a tension force on the thread would only make the stitches pull tighter into the leather...because the leather can be compressed. So...unless you have a substance inside the belt that will resist stretching, it's likely to stretch...UNLESS the belt itself is strong enough to resist the forces that stretch it. This is probably accomplished most easily by using a double layer of leather, which a lot of us do. It's also accomplished by building the belt the right size to begin with (getting the holes punched at the right place).

Now that you've got the looseness mostly resolved, I'll also add that the high detail boning (following the exact lines of the pistol) is less important than correctly molding the holster. The boning LOOKS good on a holster, but the purpose is to increase the amount of leather that's in contact with the steel. Increasing the surface contact increases the amount of friction that's holding the pistol in place. Having a deep dent at the trigger means that there's only retention at the trigger. Getting the leather tight around the slide provides tension/friction along the entire length of the slide. When you get the molding and stitching right, then the additional boning just adds to it.....but as you've seen, it doesn't replace it.

I wasn't referring to the shape of the holster's toe, but to the corner of the leather. After sanding the shape, you can go back with an edger and lightly break the sharp corner left by sanding....or just round it over as you slick/burnish the edge. Either way gives a more finished look. I prefer to go ahead and use the edger to remove the corner, then slick and burnish it. That way there's no question about the fibers of the corner ever standing up and getting fuzzy.

Excellent results in your tool modification! That is one of the nicer things about this hobby.....you can make your own rules!!

The only critique I will offer is that you need to continue the edging all the way around the toe of the holster. It looks a bit 'off' to have everything else with a nice edge and then have that sharp corner at the toe.

There's really nothing to add to Dwight's and Katsass' posts, so I'll just say "Welcome to Leatherworker.net!"

I use the same Osborne as Katsass, but I also modified another one. I accidentally broke the blade, so instead of tossing it out, I just epoxied the rest of the blade back into the handle and filed/sanded it down to the proper dimensions for it's size. Now, it's my "bridle awl", with a blade length of 9/16ths inch and a width of about 3/32nds.

I picked up a belt sander (1x30) from Harbor Freight and have been using it to sand edges and make tools. You can pick up SS bolts at your local hardware store and just go to town on them. After you get your shaping done, you can use the 'jeweler's rouge' to polish it. So far I've made bevelers, matters, and thumbprints/pear shaders. I really need a checkering file to do textured tools, but that hasn't been budgeted yet.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net! Glad to have you here with us.

Welcome to Leatherworker.net, we're glad you found us! For such a small amount, I'd recommend using a rasp or just sand paper to reduce the belt's width at the areas that are effected. If you're really steady with a knife, you could shave 1/2 the overall excess from each side of the tongue, OR, shave the whole belt if you don't have any designs on it (or one that wouldn't be affected by the shaving).

Thanks Michael, that was very informative. I'll be sure to refer all instances of "running down case law on issues" to you!!!! Outstanding effort finding all of that.

Short answer is if ABC is copying the design of XYZ's collars...specifically the decorative/artistic arrangement of them...then ABC is violating the copyright because they are duplicating the pattern someone else arranged.

Have you contacted Kate (CitizenKate) about this? IIRC, she does web design professionally. I believe it's called Studio Two Dogs.

Cobra 3 or 4, or Cowboy 3500 or 4500. The 3/3500 has a 9 inch throat and the 4/4500 has a 16inch throat. I've yet to see anyone post that having the extra room under the arm was a mistake, so you might consider looking at the 16 inch arm from the start. It's better to have the capacity and not need it than to run out of room if you're sewing something larger than you normally do. The two types of machines are fairly identical, and both come from two of our most reputable dealers that both supply exceptional after the sale service. Cobra is on the west coast, Cowboy (sold through Toledo Industrial Sewing) is in Ohio. The Cobra comes with a bit more accessories than the Cowboy, but the Cowboy is at a slightly lower price. Figure out which one is closest to you to keep shipping costs down, and go with that dealer. With either one you won't go wrong. Both Cobra and Toledo Ind. Sew. have ad banners at the top of the page. When you decide which you want and place the order, please remember to tell them that you saw their ad here.

I use Aussie leather conditioner and work it in by hand. It's messy, but the friction and heat is the best way to get the conditioner into the leather. The result is very pliable.

When you make a holster for anything with a light rail attached, it's pretty much going to resemble a pouch. You can get some molding in to help with retention, but since the light is almost always bigger than the trigger guard, your tension is going to be less than ideal. The best option I've found is to mold as well as possible and add a thumb strap.

Biggest issue will be with the magazines if you're making pouches. 17 mags need almost an extra inch.

Using fingernail polish.....well there's your problem right there!!! I used a paint marker and don't have any problems at all! Joking aside, I do the 'clock face' thing as well, but I don't touch the bobbin tension. Think of it like this (because this is what's happening): Your bobbin tension is providing a consistent tension. That stays the same regardless of what sizes you're stitching. Once you have it set for a particular thread size, leave it alone. You're top tension is what determines how high you're pulling the two threads inside the leather. If you have the top tension set at zero, then the needle will move and the tension of the bobbin thread will pull the top thread off the spool with no problems. Increase the top tension and your countering the tension from the bobbin. The result is that you 'lift' the lock stitch by pulling the two tensions against each other. This is also precisely what creates the stitch tension that holds the leather together (yes, I know we glue the leather, too.). Decreasing the tension on the top thread will lower the lock because it doesn't pull as hard against the bobbin thread. Now, here's the key - the 'lift' I mentioned is measured from the bottom of the leather...which is always at the same height...it's (should be) against the needle plate. So all you're doing is increasing or decreasing tension to alter the lift from 'zero' height to anywhere from 1/16th (top of 4oz leather..center of two 4oz pieces) to 1/8th (top of 8oz...center of two pieces of 8oz), etc., etc. ETA: I'm also sewing on a boss. I suggest trying the following- turn your primary tensioner 1/8th turn counter clockwise and test sew a piece. Alternately.....a quick tension trick I've learned: Some diagrams show a full wrap on both the primary and secondary tensioners for the Boss, some diagrams show a full wrap on the primary and a half wrap on the secondary....this was covered in your thread about the back side of stitches. If you normally have both with a full wrap, try taking the secondary tensioner to a half wrap and leaving the primary tension adjustment alone. You are decreasing the top thread tension when you do this, and I find it's a very easy way to shift between two tension settings without having to make any adjustments on the knobs.

Look up Jim Simmon's tutorial on making a holster. In it he shows how to measure and build the holster so that it will have retention without the need for ANY molding. Once you get that part down, you just tool the outer piece and assemble as he instructs. IIRC, the holster he built was a cowboy style rig....but the concept of measuring the holster remains the same for both types of revolvers.